Congressmen Cohen and Burchett Demand Answers from TVA on Kingston Plant Cleanup

WASHINGTON – Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Tim Burchett (TN-02) today wrote Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) President William D. Johnson demanding answers about TVA's announcement that ratepayers might have to pay for the misdeeds of the contractor it used for cleanup work at its Kingston plant, following the nation's worst coal ash spill. See their letter here.

According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, TVA hired Jacobs Engineering, who later admitted that it lied to workers about the level of risk to which they were ultimately exposed, and struck a deal to pay legal bills for lawsuits Jacobs defends relating to the cleanup

"TVA's congressionally mandated mission is to improve the quality of life in the Valley through the integrated management of the region's resources," said the Congressmen in their letter. "Regrettably, it seems that TVA's irresponsible actions have achieved the opposite effect -- more than 40 workers have died, including at least two TVA employees, and more than 400 are sick."